Hysteria

During the Salem Witch Trials it was very commonplace to see people exploit public hysteria in order to manipulate people and in turn gain power. During the McCarthy Era this same effect had been seen; people would exploit hysteria to manipulate people, and receive power. The Salem Witch Trials involved the overwhelming fear of witches at the time. During the McCarthy Era people had the same overwhelming fear, but this fear was instead for communists. As an illustration there are many examples…

Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!” -John Proctor. The hysteria is an exaggerated or uncontrollable…

Hysteria has been displayed in many communities around the world and has surfaced many times over throughout history. It serves as a primary factor in breaking relationships and even communities depending on the degree to which it spreads. In author Arthur Miller’s environment, 1950’s America, hysteria began taking over the country as McCarthyism surfaced and people began losing their wits in fear of communism within their government. This type of situation is mirrored in his play The Crucible.…

“There are wheels within wheels in this village, and fires within fires” (Miller 28). Hysteria discloses petty jealousies, greed, and revenge. It starts from one person to another sparking bigger and wider range of problems. Hysteria takes the place of logic and enables people to believe that neighbors whom they consider honest and respectable of committing treasonous acts. It creates an environment where people act on their grudges and selfishness which is exemplified by Abigail, Tituba, and…

Arthur Miller illustrates how fear of losing one’s reputation can trigger poor judgement and dishonest actions, at the same time, losing sight of reality can change the truth and cause paranoia in anyones world. When that happens hysteria is inevitable. In the Puritan society Reverend Parris holds a high stature. As a minister he holds power and being one with the Lord also carries its own baggage along with it. Parris says to Abigail, “...I have fought here three long years to bend these…

I believe that the weight hysteria in our culture is not valid. Unfortunately, as media and pharmaceutical companies begin to come up with ideas to make money, our culture becomes subject of the new trends. “As new technologies and procedures become available, more people are “diagnosed” as being in need of them (Harris, 38)” It starts becoming a ‘problem’ if one doesn’t fit under a certain criterion. Either you are thin or overweight, and the only way to look model perfect is to lose weight,…

might have exaggerated the events after. They could have also consumed more bread that contained ergot, thus giving them more symptoms. This also leads me to believe that although some were probably affected by ergot, it cannot be discounted that hysteria also played a part. I believe that the people who were affected by ergot were healthy enough to quickly recover but were ashamed or unfortunately did not understand they were only sick. In some cases, it was too hard for most to understand that…

Do you believe that the country needs a government that has power over them? Or, are people better off with a government that adjusts to their will? In Michael Petry’s The Code Breaker, the Puppet Master does not believe that the government should hold the power to strictly implement laws and orders that control the people. The Puppet Master makes a solid argument that the government’s power needs to be limited because, left unchecked, government leaders are often corrupted by their own…

Arthur Miller is mainly about the hysteria around the eruption of the witchcraft trials that took place in Salem in 1692. Salem was a peaceful ordinary town until it was destroyed by the chaos resulted from the wrongful allegations of Salem citizens for witchcraft. The crucible demonstrates how individuals driven by their motivations can spread hysteria with the rest of the society to release their repressed resentments. Miller cleverly created a climate of hysteria to show how paranoia and fear…

The play, The Crucible written by Arthur Miller demonstrates the power of an individual to create hysteria as well as our willingness to go along with it. It also shows the fact that a character’s motivation plays an important role in their ability to cause hysteria. Written in 1952, The Crucible is a play retelling the events of the Salem Witch Trials and the hysteria that affected the whole town of Salem. The Witch Trials lasted from March to September of 1692, and a total of 19 people were…